Written by Aja Frost
Learn
how to excel at sales coaching and get your team to reach at least 100% quota.
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Imagine
your sales team performing 19% better month after month.
Sound
nice? Of course.
But how
can you make this happen?
Research from the Sales Executive Council (SEC) examined
thousands of salespeople and found receiving quality coaching helped them
improve long-term performance by upwards of 19%.
A
separate study from CSO Insights reveals a correlation between quota
attainment and coaching. When coaching skills exceed expectations, 94.8% of
reps meet quota. When coaching skills need improvement, only 84.5% hit.
In
other words, no other productivity investment is nearly as impactful as sales
coaching. So, what is sales coaching, and how do you do it well?
What is sales coaching?
Sales
coaching is a process followed by sales managers to maximize sales rep
performance, allowing reps to positively impact the greater sales team. The
process is designed so every rep is supported and coached to effectively
contribute to the team's ability to reach, or exceed, quota.
Effective
sales coaching is:
·
Iterative
·
Individualized
·
Meant to reinforce or correct behavior
·
Part of each sales representative's daily or weekly routine
·
Focused on skills and techniques rather than numbers
What doesn’t
fall under the sales coaching umbrella?
·
Telling salespeople exactly what to do (rather than giving them
the end goal and letting them figure out the specifics)
·
Giving the same advice to every single person
·
Ignoring individual motivators, strengths, and weaknesses
Examples
of Sales Coaching
To get
a better sense of what sales coaching looks like, here are a few examples:
·
Reviewing a call with a sales rep and discussing what went well
and where they could improve
·
Scheduling weekly check-ins with reps to discuss objectives and
areas of the sales process they’re less confident in
·
Shadowing or listening to a rep's meeting or phone call with a
prospect
·
Reviewing a rep's email conversations with prospects throughout
different points in the buyer's journey
Benefits
of Sales Coaching
As
highlighted in the introduction, sales coaching has a proven, positive impact
on your bottom line. But win rates aren’t the only reason you should coach your
sales reps.
First, coaching
improves employee retention rates. Rep turnover is a notorious problem in
sales. While burnout or a bigger salary elsewhere will always tempt some,
professional development opportunities will motivate many others to stay. 9 in 10 employees say professional development is “important”
or “very important,” and 4 in 10 specifically want in-house programs.
Second,
coaching gives you an opportunity to share best practices. When you
notice one rep is using a strategy to great success, you can immediately teach
the rest of your team to do the same thing, similar to how a HubSpot sales rep's success with video prospecting spread
throughout his team. Think of sales coaching as a rising tide that lifts all
boats.
Third, coaching
maximizes your investment in sales training. Companies spend billions per
year on sales training, but research shows most of the curriculum doesn’t stick. Effective
sales training relies on consistent, long-term reinforcement — which the sales
manager can achieve through sales coaching.
Sales
Coaching Models
There
are hundreds of different sales coaching models. Many managers are less than enthused
about them — and it's not too difficult to understand why.
Some
coaching models are designed for any manager with reports, rather than a sales
manager and their reps. But sales is an incredibly distinct profession. It
requires a unique coaching model. If you’re considering a generic model, you'll
likely struggle trying to adapt it to your team.
Some
models only work with specific methodologies. That can be frustrating if you
don’t like the model you’re supposed to use. Luckily, you can always create a
hybrid of your prescribed coaching model — one you’re more enthusiastic about.
And
remember, some models are overly structured. Look for something flexible
that you can use with different sales processes — that way, if you change your
strategy, you won’t need a brand-new coaching model.
If you
aren't sure if a coaching model is a good fit, ask your team. Their feedback
matters most; after all, they are the ones who should benefit.
Now
that you have a better understanding of what sales coaching is and why it's
important, let's look at some sales coaching techniques you can implement.
Sales
Coaching Techniques
These
commonly-used coaching techniques are applicable to all types of sales teams.
Don't be afraid to incorporate some (or all) of them on your team.
1. Use
data.
It can
be overwhelming to figure out what to focus on in terms of sales coaching —
both team-wide and among individual reps. That’s where data comes into play.
Rather than using your gut to guide you, use your CRM to identify where your salespeople could improve.
Wondering
what that might look like?
Keep
track of funnel-stage conversion metrics on a monthly basis. If you notice deal
velocity is increasing but close rates are decreasing, you should dig into your
reps’ email-to-meeting, meeting-to-demo, and demo-to-close rates (or the
applicable metrics for your sales process) to understand where they’re
moving too fast.
You may
also see many reps are skipping the discovery call and jumping straight to the
demo, which saves time but leads to generic, low-value presentations … and,
therefore, decreasing win rates.
In
addition, compare each salesperson to their historical performance, the team’s
average performance, and/or your top performers’ performances.
For
example, let’s suppose your rep’s average deal size is $500. This quarter,
their average was $300. Your best salespeople are averaging $600. With this
context, it's clear this rep needs help.
2. Mix
up your coaching style.
Selling
requires a variety of skills and techniques, so make sure your coaching
incorporates multiple styles.
Director
of Sales Enablement at Brainshark, Mike Kunkle, recommends varying between:
·
Strategic coaching, or big-picture guidance, on topics like
selling into a specific market, navigating a complex buying process, working
with customer champions, etc.
·
Tactical coaching, or nitty-gritty suggestions on starting a
relationship, qualifying, etc.
·
Specific skill coaching, or helping salespeople improve their
communication, questioning strategies, rapport-building abilities, etc.
3. Get
buy-in.
What's
one of the worst ways to try to change a salesperson’s behavior? Tell them what
to do.
Most
salespeople are fairly independent — that’s why they’ve chosen to work in sales
— and don’t respond well to being ordered around.
You’ll
have far more success if you involve them in the improvement process. That
means asking them how they think they performed, what they can do to get
better, and which metrics will help them measure their progress.
4.
Leverage your best reps.
Salespeople
can learn just as much from each other as you. Use that to your advantage — if
one person on the team is crushing it, ask them to share their learnings with
everyone else.
To give
you an idea, imagine two of your reps are getting great results from
prospecting on LinkedIn. Figure out what they’re doing differently. Are they
sending a specific message? Targeting a specific set of users? Answering
questions in specific groups?
These
reps should give a presentation on their winning strategy — perhaps during your
next team meeting. Your other salespeople will be eager to imitate them, and
the group will potentially find an even more effective way to execute this
play.
Let's
also take a look at the various tools that can help you manage all of these
coaching tips and techniques more easily.
Sales
Coaching Tools
There
are a number of tools you can use to improve and simplify your sales coaching
techniques. These tools include software and educational resources you can use
both individually or in combination with each other.
1.
Chorus.ai
Chorus.ai provides a simple way for you to use sales enablement practices to coach and empower reps. You can
build, implement, and measure the success of your sales coaching tactics to
ensure you're supporting your reps so they're more likely to hit their goals.
The
software's AI capabilities simplify the creation of your coaching tactics and
plans while pulling from real rep conversations, data, and interactions with
leads and customers.
2. Gong
Gong provides a unique look into rep interactions with your
customers by using the product's conversation intelligence capabilities. As a sales manager,
this feature will make it easy to identify and replicate the actions your best
reps are taking as well as assist other reps in the areas they need support.
You can review the conversations your reps have with your prospects and
customers on the phone, email, or web conference.
3.
HubSpot Sales Coaching for Managers
HubSpot Sales Coaching for Managers is a free program
for sales managers to learn how to better coach and support reps. The lessons
focus on the best ways to coach reps so they can hit their goals and so your
team continues to excel and positively impact the business's bottom line.
4.
Showpad Coach
Showpad Coach (formerly known as LearnCore) is a sales
coaching and training software. It allows you to organize and manage coaching
(as well as onboarding and training) for each rep on your team.
The
software offers features that allow you to review analytics related to each of
your reps — this way, you identify which people need what type of support and
coaching. You can also create and share coaching videos to customize and tailor
the support you're providing your reps with.
5.
ExecVision
ExecVision is a conversation intelligence program ideal for coaching large
teams of reps. The software makes it easy to assist your reps and focus on
their specific areas for improvement by focusing on their behaviors.
The
software allows you to easily identify coachable moments in every rep's
processes. It transcribes sales calls and highlights key moments in every rep's
workflow. Then, you can go in and coach the reps in the areas in which they
need support.
Sales
Coaching Tips
In
addition to sales coaching techniques and tools, here are some all-encompassing
tips to keep in mind as well. These tips will help you effectively coach reps
to ensure your team is as productive as possible.
1.
Focus on the middle 60%.
According
to research from Brent Adamson and Matt Dixon, authors of The Challenger Sale, most sales managers tend to spend
most of their energy coaching the “very best and very worst” salespeople on
their team.
Managers
feel compelled to help the bottom 20% to get their team to quota. They want to
help the top 20% because it’s rewarding.
Consequently,
the middle 60% gets the least amount of attention. But Adamson and Dixon
explain “the real payoff from good coaching lies among … your core performers.”
After all, the worst-performing salespeople (who are consistently underperforming, that is) usually aren’t right for the role. You should replace them, not try to train them up.
After all, the worst-performing salespeople (who are consistently underperforming, that is) usually aren’t right for the role. You should replace them, not try to train them up.
And the
stars on the team show little to no performance improvement from coaching. So
when you’re thinking about which reps to focus your attention on, think of the
middle of the pack.
2.
Share your vision.
Sales
reps want to feel as though they’re contributing to the company’s overall
success. This is motivating and provides them with non-monetary fulfillment.
Come up
with a mission for your team that goes beyond “Sell X amount of business.”
This goal should be specific, actionable, and exciting — think “Break into A
market,” “Become known internally for doing B,” or “Break the company
record for C.”
Periodically
throughout team meetings and one-on-ones, share the overall team's progress
toward this objective. You should also point out the people who have made
significant contributions in doing so. For example, you might say, “I want
to recognize Joella for landing a huge new corporate account, which will
definitely increase our visibility in that market.”
3.
Learn each salesperson’s drivers.
Everyone
is motivated by different things. Even if the majority of your reps are
motivated by making money, their specific financial goals probably vary widely.
One salesperson might be paying off their student loans, while another may be
saving up for a house. Some salespeople are primarily in sales because they
love autonomy.
To
identify how you can engage your reps, former HubSpot sales director Dan Tyre recommends asking what they
want to accomplish in both their personal and professional lives.
“This
will not only show you the type of person they are, but also give you insight
into what things will motivate them the most,” he explains.
Tyre
asks these questions:
1. Are you
motivated right now?
2. What
motivates you long-term?
3. What
can you do to motivate yourself?
4. How
will I know if you are not motivated?
5. What do
you want me to do if you don’t appear motivated?
Having
these insights will allow you to tailor your coaching style to each rep.
4. Use
incentives effectively.
Sales
contests and incentives should change behaviors, not reinforce existing ones.
That’s why offering $100 to the first rep to make a sale that day probably
isn’t helpful.
Figure
out what your salespeople aren’t doing that you’d like them to — and design
your contest around that action.
To
illustrate, maybe your reps are focusing too heavily on product A because it
requires less technical knowledge than product B. You might give a bonus to
every salesperson who sells more than X units of product B.
5. Give
personal rewards.
Individual
prizes should be tied to a specific rep’s goals. For example, if a rep is
working on increasing their call-to-meetings rate, you might say you’ll take
them to a nice lunch once they improve by X%.
Not sure
what to offer as a prize? Here’s where knowing every salesperson’s motivators
is handy. You can also directly ask them, “What can I give you as a prize
for achieving [objective]?”
6. Seek
out and experiment with new coaching practices and resources.
There
are many sales coaching techniques
and tools
available today — don’t be afraid to experiment with them. Every team and
individual are different — meaning, no sales coaching techniques are always
going to be one-size-fits-all.
Learn
about what’s going to work best for your reps and their needs and ask each rep
for their feedback on your coaching style in your one-on-one meetings. Then,
stick with these tactics until you reach a point in time when you need to
reevaluate their effectiveness and impact.
7.
Prepare and practice with multiple coaching scenarios.
As a
sales manager, it’s your job to prepare and practice with multiple coaching
scenarios. Your team is bound to evolve and the people on it are going to
change (in terms of their skillset but also rep turnover).
Stay
efficient and effective in regards to coaching by preparing for different
scenarios — this way, you’ll be ready to assist and teach reps with different
needs and areas for improvement at any point in time.
Additionally,
you might notice you have several people who need the same type of coaching in
a specific problem area. In this case, you can prepare with training and
information around that topic and share it among the group. Or, if one rep is
struggling in a specific area, you may have a prepared outline of a plan you
can then tailor towards their needs — then, you can use it again in the future
with another rep.
Sales
Coaching Helps You Grow Better
Sales
coaching is both an art and a science. It's one of — if not the — most
important components of sales management. Do it well, and your team's results
will speak for you. So, begin incorporating the various sales coaching
techniques, tools, and tips to help your team close more deals, boost revenue,
surpass quota, and grow better.
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